Watching football is sometimes a guilty pleasure. Yes, NFL players know they chose a violent profession. At what cost, though, to their brains? That's a question brain scientists are trying to answer, and the story of Steve Hendrickson, a former Chargers star on special teams, is a disturbing piece in the puzzle. I enjoyed talking to and writing about Hendrickson during his Chargers career. The Escondido resident is now unable to remember one day's events from the next, he tells ESPN.

Tim Keown writes, "He has been deemed permanently disabled by the Social Security Administration, but his case for enhanced disability benefits through the NFL was turned down by a six-person panel that deemed his injuries non-football-related."

It's not possible to make the NFL game fully safe. Will coming generations find it to be safer than when Hendrickson played? Hendrickson hopes so for the sake of his son, Kyle, a senior linebacker at San Pasqual High. "I think he can play on Sundays," Steve said.